As a male nurse in Sweden, having studied and worked here, I always had a dreamy notion of working as a nurse in America, particularly in Texas, which I heard is warm, beautiful, and has no state taxes. The only barrier for me was the fear of taking the NCLEX exam. However, since getting to know you, I've come to appreciate my work conditions in Sweden. I only have a year of experience, live in Stockholm, earn slightly below the average you mentioned, and spend a bit more. Perhaps these factors led me to consider elsewhere, but I feel your insights and thorough analysis have given me a clearer picture
Thanks for the feedback. I would also say in your case, if you want to work in the USA for the experience of it, go for it. Something I appreciate about Swedes is their appreciation of having experiences in life. It’s kind of like me… if I had not come to try to live in Sweden, I would have always wondered about if I could have done it or maybe had regrets that I never tried. I am sure you would do great in the NCLEX if you want to prepare for it. Just study really hard and pay for those practice apps for the NCLEX. I have a friend from Colombia who just passed and he has never been to the USA yet but he studied really hard. Lycka till!
As a swede I would not want the US system. But one thing to add is the sales tax is quite high, so you have less purchase power with your money in Sweden, and prices are generally quite high even before tax (but that varies some stuff is cheaper).
Don't forget that if you get sick during your vacation, you report sick and register sick leave instead of vacation! This will ensure that your vacation days aren't wasted. I have 10 days of saved vacation from a couple of years back because of the fact that I got sick with influensa during my vacation. (In our collective bargaining agreement we can save save up to 50 paid vacation days if we don't have overtime, which I've agreed to waive in favor of more vacation days and higher salary)
One thing to remember when u compare salaries is that in sweden u dont see the total of your salary since your employer also pay something like 38% top i "arbetsgivaravgift" , "tjänstepension" and other social benefits.
Yea I have heard about this too. It is hard for me to really understand or make it make sense in my brain of what it means for me as an employee (hard to put into words but I guess I can say I feel indifferent about it as I am not an employer and maybe I do not really understand it well). It seems like it affects more the employer than the employee. I know in the USA, my employers paid a portion as well though I am sure it was not as high. It went toward things like life insurance, disability, retirement, ect.
@@krokodilen31 I was just talking with my colleague at work today. She is a undersköterska (like a nurse assistant here in Sweden). She was so depressed today because we had a meeting today about our pension fund and for her even though she works really hard full time, she will only get 10000 kronor per month. She is not sure what to do. I was not sure what to tell her. She is in her 50s now. 10000 is not enough to live on. I was kind of surprised it would be so low. Have you heard anything about this?
@@becurious2000 probably because she either been att home with kids, havent worked full time or started to work late like if she studied for a long time and maybe enjoyed her life travelling the world, as many things in life its about choices. Im in the same age as her, i work as a electrician so i probably have a salary close to hers. I always saved on the side of the regular system in the stock market. Also paid of the mortages so the house is all mine. No other debts. Plus i started to work right after the gymnasium when i was 18 years old, i am now 53. Its sad that people dont think about retirement earlier in life.
@@krokodilen31 interesting. I do know she came to Sweden from a developing nation as a Swedish guy came to her country, married her, had children together, moved back to Sweden together , and then a few years later divorced her. Now she is stuck because they share children. I think she said she has been a citizen for 6 years.
Great video. I set myself on a journey to become an Adult (due to work with adults not paediatric nurse) male nurse in the UK. I wonder how this is going to turn out for me. I am very excited. Anyway, great video!!
@becurious2000 thank you. I am going through the anatomy and physiology. It's very interesting and a broad topic (a bit scary too). How will I learn all of it. Thanks again and good luck practising nursing in Sweden. I have been there years ago, it's a beautiful country and lovely people.
@@19boro76 ahh I remember anatomy and physiology. That was a long time ago for me. A tuff course but lots of information you will use in your practice later on.
As usual, if you are young, healthy and eager to make money, go for America, otherwise you're better off in Europe. In a globalised world, I'd say people should do a little bit of both, provided that they are able and want to.
Thank you for the insightful video but i Will like to say these statistics are not actual like the salary stuff you mentioned and cost of living. Because the cost of living here in Sweden is getting higher and higher that even the minimum wage earners are really suffering. This alone is causing many to move to other countries. Just my Honest opinion though. Thanks again for your indepth analysis ❤❤
@@becurious2000 Yeees!!! Outside of ICU we often have 10-20 patients per nurse! In night shift most nurses are alone for one unit. And from my ICU experience I often had to take care of 3 patients..... 1:2 ratio would be a DREAM for us ICU nurses!
Honestly unfortunately no. It’s something I am dealing with right now. Salaries are not so good here compared to Texas and in my case I am too exhausted to work other nursing jobs. I am currently dealing with burn out from the Monday to Friday 8 hour shifts . I prefer 4 ten hour shifts or 3 twelve hour shifts per week but that is not the norm in Sweden . Feels like my whole life is the job. Once I have my permanent residence permit then I can look into other more lucrative opportunities like travel nursing in Sweden. They pay way better than the hospital.
@@becurious2000 You'll get it sorted: You've managed worse 😉😉 Will the permanent residence allow you to work in the other Nordic countries? We're all diffferent 🤗 My sister was in nursing for 30 years, she worked 15.00-23.00 7 days, and had 7 days off. When she returned after a long sick leave, they gave her a normal schedule: 8.00 - 16.00, 5 days a week. It almost killed her! The woman hadn't been out off her bed before 10 for 40 years!
Indian nurse shited to Stockholm 18 months ago. Just the författningskurs is left to be cleared. The salary you have shown seems to be a bit on the higher side. I've seen nurses in Karolinska work for 30-34k sek... Which i think is quite low. You sure nurses actually get this kinda salary?
Congratulations! You’re almost there! I imagine it could be very regional and dependent on what type of nursing you do. I know I was making 31000 just as a undersköterska and I know many other undersköterskor that got that amount. When I worked in home health for a private company the salary was really bad for undersköterskor but much better for nurses. I worked with nurses in private home health care that were making 40000-48000 per month. Hospitals pay less though. Most people I know are getting 35000-38000 as foreign nurses in Sweden in the hospital . It depends a lot on age and experience. Once I validate my masters in Sweden I will get more per month.
@@becurious2000 thanks for the reply. I work as an undersköterska as well and get 2K less than you. Maybe coz it's Karolinska. It's quite known and a big hospital. But their pay scale is way below average it seems. I've seen ssk working for much less than your said average! Maybe the pay is better in privat as compared to publik
@@inquibubula8693 my first USK job I made only 21500 in the beginning but my Swedish was very limited. It was home health. After 5 months I was raised to 25000 a month because I did a lot of the work and they were afraid I would quit.. I was offered a job at the hospital for 31000. I met several USK who switched to kommunen and got 31000 . Skåne probably pays higher than many other areas. We are close to Denmark and Denmark pays way more. Maybe it’s how they keep people working in Skåne ? 🤷
Tank you for explaining, the pros and cons and Malmö is still a big city for sweden! But its small compared to Copenhagen, so there is danes moving to Malmö, still working in Copenhagen!? Becuse they say, everything is cheaper in Malmö??? Its difficult to explain swedish tax system.. especial for US citicens, there is a pletora of reductions and deductions, and swedes are experts to navigate about that! In anyway.. the rumor say.. taxes in sweden is about 50% or more, its both truth and false! Becuse the median salary tax is 27%, it goes between 20-32%, becuse of deductions and reductions! And then ones employeer pays another 33% on top of your salary in taxes to the goverment, its cald "arbetsgivaravgifter", employeer fees, its take care of goverment things, like pension funds, schools/univeritys, police, military, national roads and rails, and all the other things our goverment have to take care of! Its this, compare salarys, your salary is actually 33% higher! Another thing, for those dont know, your salary tax splits in two pices, 2/3 goes to ones "kommun" (comunity) the other 1/3 goes to ones region, that mostly provide your healtcare.. "its your healt care insurance/contribution to explain it for US citicens", but they provide even more, on a regional level! Its complicated.. but it seems that at least some want to live in our country.. I wonder why????
Also a lot of Danes with a foreign spouce "took" a couple of years of living in Skåne to get around hidious Danish immigration rules. Naturally some got "stuck" 🥰
As a male nurse in Sweden, having studied and worked here, I always had a dreamy notion of working as a nurse in America, particularly in Texas, which I heard is warm, beautiful, and has no state taxes. The only barrier for me was the fear of taking the NCLEX exam. However, since getting to know you, I've come to appreciate my work conditions in Sweden. I only have a year of experience, live in Stockholm, earn slightly below the average you mentioned, and spend a bit more. Perhaps these factors led me to consider elsewhere, but I feel your insights and thorough analysis have given me a clearer picture
Thanks for the feedback. I would also say in your case, if you want to work in the USA for the experience of it, go for it. Something I appreciate about Swedes is their appreciation of having experiences in life. It’s kind of like me… if I had not come to try to live in Sweden, I would have always wondered about if I could have done it or maybe had regrets that I never tried. I am sure you would do great in the NCLEX if you want to prepare for it. Just study really hard and pay for those practice apps for the NCLEX. I have a friend from Colombia who just passed and he has never been to the USA yet but he studied really hard. Lycka till!
As a swede I would not want the US system. But one thing to add is the sales tax is quite high, so you have less purchase power with your money in Sweden, and prices are generally quite high even before tax (but that varies some stuff is cheaper).
Also, if you are on vacation and get sick, you get your vacationdays back :) (the amount of days you are sick you get vacationdays back)
No way?!!! I did not know that
@@becurious2000 Well, a early merry christmas may be in place then maby hehe :)
Don't forget that if you get sick during your vacation, you report sick and register sick leave instead of vacation! This will ensure that your vacation days aren't wasted. I have 10 days of saved vacation from a couple of years back because of the fact that I got sick with influensa during my vacation. (In our collective bargaining agreement we can save save up to 50 paid vacation days if we don't have overtime, which I've agreed to waive in favor of more vacation days and higher salary)
That’s awesome 😎
Cost of vegetables and fruit etc, you can ask chatgpt about it for a brief summary.
Very nice as usual 👍🏽✌🏽
Thanks again!
One thing to remember when u compare salaries is that in sweden u dont see the total of your salary since your employer also pay something like 38% top i "arbetsgivaravgift" , "tjänstepension" and other social benefits.
Yea I have heard about this too. It is hard for me to really understand or make it make sense in my brain of what it means for me as an employee (hard to put into words but I guess I can say I feel indifferent about it as I am not an employer and maybe I do not really understand it well). It seems like it affects more the employer than the employee. I know in the USA, my employers paid a portion as well though I am sure it was not as high. It went toward things like life insurance, disability, retirement, ect.
@@becurious2000 it means a lot when u retire since it pays a big part of your pension.
@@krokodilen31 I was just talking with my colleague at work today. She is a undersköterska (like a nurse assistant here in Sweden). She was so depressed today because we had a meeting today about our pension fund and for her even though she works really hard full time, she will only get 10000 kronor per month. She is not sure what to do. I was not sure what to tell her. She is in her 50s now. 10000 is not enough to live on. I was kind of surprised it would be so low. Have you heard anything about this?
@@becurious2000 probably because she either been att home with kids, havent worked full time or started to work late like if she studied for a long time and maybe enjoyed her life travelling the world, as many things in life its about choices. Im in the same age as her, i work as a electrician so i probably have a salary close to hers. I always saved on the side of the regular system in the stock market. Also paid of the mortages so the house is all mine. No other debts. Plus i started to work right after the gymnasium when i was 18 years old, i am now 53. Its sad that people dont think about retirement earlier in life.
@@krokodilen31 interesting. I do know she came to Sweden from a developing nation as a Swedish guy came to her country, married her, had children together, moved back to Sweden together , and then a few years later divorced her. Now she is stuck because they share children. I think she said she has been a citizen for 6 years.
The extra vacat days for people over 40 comes from the cooperative bargening agreement :)! It's not a legal requirement.
Interesting
Great video. I set myself on a journey to become an Adult (due to work with adults not paediatric nurse) male nurse in the UK. I wonder how this is going to turn out for me. I am very excited. Anyway, great video!!
Thanks! Best of wishes to you !
@becurious2000 thank you. I am going through the anatomy and physiology. It's very interesting and a broad topic (a bit scary too). How will I learn all of it. Thanks again and good luck practising nursing in Sweden. I have been there years ago, it's a beautiful country and lovely people.
@@19boro76 ahh I remember anatomy and physiology. That was a long time ago for me. A tuff course but lots of information you will use in your practice later on.
As usual, if you are young, healthy and eager to make money, go for America, otherwise you're better off in Europe.
In a globalised world, I'd say people should do a little bit of both, provided that they are able and want to.
Absolutely 👍🏻
Thank you for the insightful video but i Will like to say these statistics are not actual like the salary stuff you mentioned and cost of living. Because the cost of living here in Sweden is getting higher and higher that even the minimum wage earners are really suffering. This alone is causing many to move to other countries. Just my Honest opinion though. Thanks again for your indepth analysis ❤❤
Thanks for the insight. Which statistic sources do you like looking at?
A lot of us German nurses are looking into coming to Sweden. Nurse to patient ratios are horrible here; no one wants to be a nurse in Germany anymore.
Really ?! 😱 I had no idea!
@@becurious2000 Yeees!!! Outside of ICU we often have 10-20 patients per nurse! In night shift most nurses are alone for one unit. And from my ICU experience I often had to take care of 3 patients..... 1:2 ratio would be a DREAM for us ICU nurses!
So a nurse in Sweden basicly have enough time off, to have a second job - and could earn as much as a US Nurse?
Honestly unfortunately no. It’s something I am dealing with right now. Salaries are not so good here compared to Texas and in my case I am too exhausted to work other nursing jobs. I am currently dealing with burn out from the Monday to Friday 8 hour shifts . I prefer 4 ten hour shifts or 3 twelve hour shifts per week but that is not the norm in Sweden . Feels like my whole life is the job. Once I have my permanent residence permit then I can look into other more lucrative opportunities like travel nursing in Sweden. They pay way better than the hospital.
@@becurious2000 You'll get it sorted: You've managed worse 😉😉
Will the permanent residence allow you to work in the other Nordic countries?
We're all diffferent 🤗
My sister was in nursing for 30 years, she worked 15.00-23.00 7 days, and had 7 days off.
When she returned after a long sick leave, they gave her a normal schedule: 8.00 - 16.00, 5 days a week. It almost killed her!
The woman hadn't been out off her bed before 10 for 40 years!
Indian nurse shited to Stockholm 18 months ago. Just the författningskurs is left to be cleared.
The salary you have shown seems to be a bit on the higher side. I've seen nurses in Karolinska work for 30-34k sek... Which i think is quite low.
You sure nurses actually get this kinda salary?
Congratulations! You’re almost there! I imagine it could be very regional and dependent on what type of nursing you do. I know I was making 31000 just as a undersköterska and I know many other undersköterskor that got that amount. When I worked in home health for a private company the salary was really bad for undersköterskor but much better for nurses. I worked with nurses in private home health care that were making 40000-48000 per month. Hospitals pay less though. Most people I know are getting 35000-38000 as foreign nurses in Sweden in the hospital . It depends a lot on age and experience. Once I validate my masters in Sweden I will get more per month.
@@becurious2000 thanks for the reply. I work as an undersköterska as well and get 2K less than you. Maybe coz it's Karolinska. It's quite known and a big hospital. But their pay scale is way below average it seems. I've seen ssk working for much less than your said average!
Maybe the pay is better in privat as compared to publik
@@inquibubula8693 my first USK job I made only 21500 in the beginning but my Swedish was very limited. It was home health. After 5 months I was raised to 25000 a month because I did a lot of the work and they were afraid I would quit.. I was offered a job at the hospital for 31000. I met several USK who switched to kommunen and got 31000 . Skåne probably pays higher than many other areas. We are close to Denmark and Denmark pays way more. Maybe it’s how they keep people working in Skåne ? 🤷
Tank you for explaining, the pros and cons and Malmö is still a big city for sweden!
But its small compared to Copenhagen, so there is danes moving to Malmö, still working in Copenhagen!?
Becuse they say, everything is cheaper in Malmö???
Its difficult to explain swedish tax system.. especial for US citicens, there is a pletora of reductions and deductions, and swedes are experts to navigate about that!
In anyway.. the rumor say.. taxes in sweden is about 50% or more, its both truth and false!
Becuse the median salary tax is 27%, it goes between 20-32%, becuse of deductions and reductions!
And then ones employeer pays another 33% on top of your salary in taxes to the goverment, its cald "arbetsgivaravgifter", employeer fees, its take care of goverment things, like pension funds, schools/univeritys, police, military, national roads and rails, and all the other things our goverment have to take care of!
Its this, compare salarys, your salary is actually 33% higher!
Another thing, for those dont know, your salary tax splits in two pices, 2/3 goes to ones "kommun" (comunity) the other 1/3 goes to ones region, that mostly provide your healtcare.. "its your healt care insurance/contribution to explain it for US citicens", but they provide even more, on a regional level!
Its complicated.. but it seems that at least some want to live in our country.. I wonder why????
Thanks for the insightful comment 😊🙏🏻
Also a lot of Danes with a foreign spouce "took" a couple of years of living in Skåne to get around hidious Danish immigration rules. Naturally some got "stuck" 🥰